Displaced
by Dark Ice Dragon
Summary: The city is different, and M-21 can't place why. That's when he bumps into his younger self and he's sure Tao would say something along the lines of 'We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto'. Except he still is. Just not in the time he's used to anymore.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary** : The city is different, and M-21 can't place why. That's when he bumps into his younger self and he's sure Tao would say something along the lines of 'We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto'. Except he still is. Just not in the time he's used to anymore.

I made a joking comment about what M-21 would do if he travelled back in time. And then the plotbunny refused to let me sleep until I wrote one scene.

Aaaand thanks to some people I now have plotbunnies everywhere so I'm putting this into it's own section. I'll probably be writing this snippets style like nekomata!Tao.

* * *

 **Displaced  
**

By Dark Ice Dragon

* * *

The city is different, and M-21 can't place why. It smells the same, the weather is the same though sunnier when the forecast said it would rain, and the people are the same.

It still feels off for some reason.

It's while he's trying to figure it out that he walks into someone.

"Watch it!" the other person snarls as 'Sorry' is on M-21's tongue.

It dies there as M-21 sees who he walked into.

Himself.

It's his younger self with longer hair, wearing the trenchcoat with the upturned collar.

M-24 is standing next to him.

M-21's stomach lurches and he runs as his younger self's eyes widen.

He's zigzagged to five different roofs before he drops down to ground level again, his heart hammering. He couldn't have - that couldn't have been.

But his nose doesn't lie. That was both himself and M-24.

He digs out his phone and there it is. The date's updated since the last time he checked.

He's several months in the past.

Shit.

He has no idea how that happened. There had been no flashing, no weight of power or anything to indicate something had happened. It was a normal day. He'd thought.

" _Shit_ ," he says for extra emphasis. When had he arrived here? Younger him. How long is it going to be before things started coming to a head?

Has younger him found the empty room yet?

Has Frankenstein found Raizel-nim yet?

He's watched enough time travel movies with Takeo and Tao (Because 'We gotta catch up on the classics, you guys! Do you know how much we've been _missing_?') to know there were so many ways to fuck up the timeline.

And he'd already started with meeting his younger self.

At least the universe hadn't imploded when they'd touched.

But what can he do _now_?

Stay out of everyone's way since he knows how it'll all end and just wait for his own timeline to come around again? There's a few places he can think of holing himself up to bide his time. Or he could just leave the city, or even the country. That would make it harder to bump into anyone who would recognise him.

"Is there something wrong?"

M-21 snaps his head towards the voice even as he recognises it.

It's Frankenstein and Raizel-nim, Raizel-nim walking towards him.

Or he could _run right into the next pair he was trying to avoid_.

Raizel-nim has to know something's up, that he's time displaced or whatever the fuck it's called. Tao would know. Tao's not here right now. Won't be for another week or so.

He's going to fuck everything up further if he doesn't just run again. Leave. He should.

But if there's anyone who would know what happened and how to _fix_ it, it's them.

"Yeah," he says, nodding, and Raizel-nim smiles.

Maybe...everything's going to end up okay after all. With them, it always does.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary** : The city is different, and M-21 can't place why. That's when he bumps into his younger self and he's sure Tao would say something along the lines of 'We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto'. Except he still is. Just not in the time he's used to anymore.

So I decided I'd have two 'verses of this, one where I write any and all ideas that come into my head in the order they come in, and a plot verse. This is the snippet verse, so thing's will probably start colliding into each other or not mesh up, but this verse is mostly for fun.

* * *

 **Displaced  
**

By Dark Ice Dragon

* * *

M-21 drew in a breath out of habit as soon as he'd entered the house, then paused, frowning. It smelled different. Which shouldn't have been surprising — it was only Frankenstein and Raizel-nim living there right now, and Raizel-nim had just woken up.

There was a lot less slippers in the entranceway, and they were darker in colour too.

He took another breath, to calm himself. He wasn't in his time anymore, even if it was only a couple of months' difference. A lot had changed during then.

"I'll make us some tea, mm?"

M-21 had already turned away with an absent nod before realising he should have given a proper answer. "Yeah, that'll be fine, thanks."

He sat on the sofa, leaning his elbows on his knees as he heard the kettle boil, seeing Raizel-nim sit at his regular seat from the corner of his eyes.

He still hadn't figured out _how_ he was going to convince them he was from the future yet, not without making them suspicious of how he knew, but what could he say that would absolutely make them believe him?

M-21 glanced at Raizel-nim, who smiled at him again.

Raizel-nim, who was a fucking _empath_ and _telepath_ and would have been hearing his running commentary on everything since they met.

A strangled groan escaped his throat as he slumped, curling one hand around his head.

They knew. They _knew_ something was different about him (because Frankenstein was Frankenstein and he would have picked up on all the small things M-21 had tripped over already) and it would be just like them to wait for him to bring up the specific details so then they could start helping.

He was sure if Raizel-nim had a cup of tea right then, he would have been sipping from it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary** : The city is different, and M-21 can't place why. That's when he bumps into his younger self and he's sure Tao would say something along the lines of 'We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto'. Except he still is. Just not in the time he's used to anymore.

Thank hellse-bunny for this snippet, ahahah. Though this didn't come out like you imagined it, hah…

And since I fudged up the author note in the previous part: I'm writing two time travel 'verses, a plot verse, and a verse where I just write any and all snippets that come into my head in the order they come in. So this is the snippet verse.

* * *

 **Displaced  
**

By Dark Ice Dragon

* * *

M-21 yawned, foregoing getting ready for bed. He could feel the fogginess in his thoughts, the lethargy in his limbs as he curled up in bed — it wouldn't be long until the werewolf instincts took over and-

Shit.

His eyes flew open and he tried to sit up. He couldn't, his body resisting him once he'd laid down, unwilling to move again.

Shitshitshit-! He'd gotten so used to the werewolf instincts taking over once a month that he'd noticed the symptoms but didn't think much more about them.

He was used to the rest of the household _knowing_ when the werewolf instincts were going to take over and looking after him while he was like that.

No-one knew here. Not in the same way.

 _Fuck._

His phone was on his bedside table, but it may as well have been on the other side of the house as instincts wrapped around his brain and took over.

xOx

M-21 changed his shoes after coming back into the house, hearing the kettle boil. It had to be Frankenstein or his older self — they always seemed to be able to time it perfectly to be _right there_ when he and '24 returned.

It was Frankenstein this time, who smiled at them. "Would you two like tea?"

…He would. He'd started getting used to having a hot drink after a walk now. It had only been a few days and he was still waiting for the shift, for it all to be revealed everything was fake, but it still hadn't happened yet. Everything being fake and a trap made more sense than himself travelling back from the fucking _future_.

Frankenstein brought their cups to counter, pouring the water in front of them.

M-21 heard the door to the living room burst open and he snapped his attention to it, trusting '24 to keep watching Frankenstein in case the scientist slipped something into their drinks while they were distracted.

It was his older self, wide-eyed and _fuck_ , what was it that made _him_ look panicked like that?

M ran at them. No, _'24_. M-21 stared as M threw himself at '24, wrapping his arms around his comrade, and was that a high-pitched _whine_ M-21 was hearing?

It couldn't be. M was always collected, always knew what to do or say in a situation. It was also fucking annoying that he couldn't get a rise out of him whatever he did, and even doing _that_ seemed to meet M's expectations, M-21 getting met with a resigned expression.

M had to be missing the '24 from his own time. M-21 could understand that — he didn't want to think what he would feel if he was separated from '24.

Except M's shoulders were shaking.

Not just that. He was _crying_.

That reaction was too strong for just missing '24.

And… M had never directly said what '24 had been doing. M-21 had assumed '24 was always by his side so M hadn't needed to mention him, but if he was reacting like this… M-21 shared a look with '24. That had to explain the stares he'd sometimes caught M doing when he thought no-one was looking.

"M?" Frankenstein was frowning, the kettle sitting by M-21 and '24's cups.

M lifted his head to look away from '24 and-

And _growled._

…Fuck. This had to be what M had meant when he said the werewolf instincts took over.

Frankenstein didn't say anything, studying M's face.

M growled again, lilting in the same way, but this time it ended with a whine. Like…a question? M-21 frowned, trying to figure out how he knew that. Was it his own werewolf heart trying to translate?

M was looking between Frankenstein and '24, a high-pitched whine in his throat. How was he even _making_ those sounds?

"Yes…" Frankenstein said, drawing the word out, like he wanted to make sure he had the right answer. "This is M-24."

M slumped at that, his hands clutching at '24's suit. The _keen_ made M-21 swallow, his own heart hurting in sympathy.

He didn't object when '24 drew his arms around M, comforting him like he always did with M-21 when he needed it.

How could he object? He knew he would have reacted the same if he'd been in the same position, and how had M kept himself together all this time, seeing someone who had died, standing in front of him again?

And no longer treated him like he remembered.

 _Shit._


End file.
